Landlord Notification Letters Status UpdateMasterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Landlord Notification Letters
DATE: December 16, 2010
The Safe Community Task Force recommendations include an item related to the
importance of landlords being notified about police calls to their rental property.
"Establish threshold number of complaint calls that will place a problem property in
priority category. Establish policies and processes for immediate response and
resolution of problems involving those properties."
Chief of Police Mark Dalsing has provided information on the status of the Police
Department's Landlord Notification system implemented in 2010.
City staff is still developing procedures to meet the remaining elements of this
recommendation.
eI C. Van Mi i
Michael g en
MCVM:lw
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Crenna Brumwell, Assistant City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Mark Dalsing, Chief of Police
Chris Kohlmann, Information Services Manager
Mark Murphy, Emergency Communications Manager
Kelly Larson, Human Rights Director
Phyllis Russell, Management Intern
Safe Community Task Force
Dubuque
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THE CITY OF
DUB1tJE MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
FR: Mark M. D ng /r')
Chief of Police
November 24, 2010
RE: Landlord Notification Letters
INTRODUCTION
This memo will detail the history and current results of a landlord notification system the
Dubuque Police Department has in place.
BACKGROUND
For several years, the Dubuque Police Department had a system in place where
landlords, owners or property managers of Dubuque rental properties were notified of
police responses to their properties. The original process started in the Community
Policing unit in the 90's after landlords expressed concern that they weren't aware of
problems at their properties until they became an issue and police requested corrective
actions be taken. In response the Department began notifying landlords via a letter from
the Chief of Police. This system was done through a review of daily shift reports and
identification of potential ongoing problem areas. While this was a successful process it
was subject to daily human review of reports, knowledge of rental property addresses,
and was subjective to the types of calls that would warrant a letter.
Through the continued partnership with the Dubuque Area Landlords Association, this
was an identified area where further expansion was needed. The Dubuque Police
Department, Housing Services and Information Services staff worked to create and
implement an automated system of landlord notifications. Through this system, specific
police calls for service (CFS) are cross checked against the City's licensed rental
property database. If the CFS is one of the 51 specified call types ranging from Animal
Noise Complaints and Loud Music to Fights in Progress and Burglary, the system
triggers an automated letter if the address is in the licensed rental property database. A
letter is then prepared to the individual (or company) on the license and contains the
date and time of the call, the call type, the case number, the investigating officer(s)
name, and an invitation to contact the department for the specifics of the incident.
The system went into operation on December 06, 2009. Through November 21, 2010,
1163 letters have been sent out, an average of 23.26 letters per week. The lowest week
was February 8 -14, 2010 when only 12 letters went out and the highest weeks were
July 12 -18, 2010 and August 02 -08, 2010 when 39 letters were sent out.
The letters are sent through the US Postal system at a cost of $.44 each. There are
occasionally multiple letters to single property managers that can go in one mailing, but
it's estimated that occurs around only 5% of the time. In total the department has
expended approximately $450 to $500 on the letters in the approximate year the system
has been in place.
The current system has had some tweaks and changes made since it was created,
including adding and removing of various call natures as well as adding an officer e-mail
option for the landlords.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
Over time and with a working partnership, as well some trial and error, the Dubuque
Police Department has developed a good system of notifying landlords of potential
problems at their properties. Through this system the department has created a system
to keep landlords in the loop of what is happening at their property. Should patterns
develop with specific landlords, these letters will be an asset for the City in any
enforcement procedures. More often these letters serve as tools the landlords can use
to successfully manage their properties by identifying potential problem tenants and
holding the tenants accountable for their actions and to the provisions of their leases.
ACTION REQUESTED
This is an informational memo only. No action is requested.